Shopping Habits
by Kristen3
Summary: Daphne is shocked when a representative from her credit card company calls to say that there's been a very unusual charge on the account. But Niles' explanation only makes Daphne love him more. One-shot, written as a birthday gift for Leigh Ann (leighann415).


**Author's Note: **This idea came out of a real-life experience for me (nothing too awful). But I began to think there was a story in it, as usual. I'm dedicating the resulting bit of fluff to Leigh Ann (**leighann415**)for her birthday, and as thanks for all of her love and encouragement. "

"Goodnight, my sweet boy," Daphne whispered, kissing her infant son. She knew it was just his daily nap, but she loved him so much. Even if it made her chores a little later, she couldn't resist making sure he knew he was loved every single time he laid down. David was placed in his crib, and Daphne watched for a few moments, making sure he was all right.

When she was satisfied that David would be fine, Daphne left the room. No sooner had she closed the door, than she heard the phone ring. Not wanting to wake the baby, she quickly hurried to the master bedroom to answer it. "Crane residence."

"Hello. Mrs. Crane? This is your credit card company. I'm afraid I'm calling to inform you that we think there's been some possible fraudulent activity on your account."

"Oh, my." Daphne didn't know what else to say. She'd seen plenty of specials on the news about people who'd had their identities stolen. She knew it didn't take long for a thief to ruin a person's entire life.

"Yes," the representative on the phone said. "Your credit card was just used at a sporting-goods store, to buy some baseball equipment. We keep careful track of what our customers usually buy, so that we can call them if there's something unusual. Is there a reason your husband, or possibly a friend, might have bought these things?"

Daphne was shocked. Baseball equipment? Something had to be wrong. "No. I can't think of anything," she replied. "Me husband is at work at the moment. When he comes home, I'll discuss this with him. He handles most of our bills, so maybe he knows something." She knew only too well that Niles was more than willing to give their credit card number away in order to purchase opera tickets. Was it possible someone at the box office had stolen it?

"All right, ma'am. As I said, we do track your spending habits, and this was so out of the ordinary, we thought we'd warn you. If someone has stolen your card, it's likely we've caught them before they can cause too much damage."

"Thank you," Daphne said, hanging up the phone. The idea that someone would violate them this way left her feeling very unsettled. She knew she had a dozen things to do, laundry, chores and such which never seemed to end. But the phone call had shaken her. All she could do was sit on the bed, not certain what to make of it all.

Downstairs, Niles used his key to let himself into the apartment. Usually, Daphne was downstairs, busy with the housework, but never too busy to greet her husband. "My love, I'm home," he called upstairs when he realized she wasn't in the living room.

Daphne heard his voice, and it snapped her out of her trance. She got up and began walking to the stars. She had no idea how to explain this. It wasn't something she ever thought she'd have to do. But when she reached the stairs, she was shocked to find a bag next to Niles, on the floor. On the outside of the bag was the name of a very prominent Seattle sporting-goods store. "Niles?"

Niles grinned at her. "My last patient canceled, so I decided to do a bit of shopping. I got to thinking how Dad used to try to teach Frasier and me all about sports, but we never took to it. To this day, I still have no idea how close the Mariners are to the Super Bowl."

Daphne smiled. Niles was such a smart man in so many ways, but he knew next to nothing about sports. "What did you buy?"

"I got everything our son will need to play baseball. I know we don't really have a yard, but I thought if he had a bat and a ball, we could always take him to the park, or somewhere. I mean, there must be a baseball court somewhere around here!"

Upon hearing her husband's words, she could do nothing but walk the remaining couple of feet to him as quickly as possible. Sports certainly weren't his thing, but he wanted to make sure his son was properly exposed to them. Daphne knew some of this must have been motivated by guilt. Martin often told both his sons how much he loved them and was proud of their success. But there was no denying he was sorry he never could share his love of sports with his two boys. She kissed Niles deeply.

Niles savored the sensation of Daphne's lips on his. He could hardly believe he went seven years knowing her and being her friend without experiencing this.

When the series of kisses finally ended, Daphne glanced down at the bag. "So, what kind of equipment did you buy?"

Niles took the things out to show her. "Well, I asked a salesman, of course. I think he saw that I was wealthy, and he talked me into the most expensive items they had. But I didn't care." In his hands, he held a metal bat, a fielder's glove, and a baseball.

"Darling, I love that you want to make sure our son learns to love sports. But none of this stuff is for babies. David's only a few months old!"

Niles' face fell. "I suppose I did get a bit ahead of myself. But I got so caught up in the moment. I want my son to appreciate other things, too, of course. Opera, classical music, that sort of thing. But I know I'll be the one to teach him all about those. Dad's going to be in charge of David's sports education. I just thought maybe we shouldn't waste time."

"I'm sure your father would be proud. And I happen to know your father's already gotten started on teaching David about sports. I asked him and Ronee to babysit last week so that I could run a few errands. When I came back, your father had a Mariner's game on, and he was trying to teach David the names of the players!" She laughed at the memory.

"Well, maybe the next time Dad teaches him, I could sit in. I mean, it wouldn't hurt for me know a thing or two. The man at the store kept talking about 'curve-balls,' 'sliders,' and all sorts of terms I didn't understand."

"I'm sure your father would love that," Daphne said, hugging him.

"It is strange, though," Niles said as he continued to hold her. "When I went to pay for all of this, my credit card wouldn't go through. I wound up having to pay by check. Must've been a fluke with their computer system."

Daphne remembered the call from the credit card company. "It wasn't a fluke, Darling. I got a call a few minutes ago about possible fraud on our account. They said our card was just used at a sporting-goods shop. I didn't know what to make of it until now."

Niles pulled her even closer. "Ah, that makes sense. It's good that they're on top of things like that."

"Yes," Daphne agreed. "But it's even nicer to know I have a husband who loves his child no matter what."

**The End**


End file.
